Premier League Players To Take A Knee For Two Weekends

Premier League players will take a knee before the kick-off of the forthcoming weekends’ league games to demonstrate their opposition to racism.

Between February 11 and February 19, the No Room for Racism campaign will be highlighted throughout Premier League games as Premier League players will be permitted to knee before kickoff.

To show their support for the racial equality movement, Premier League players and staff started kneeling before kickoff in games in June 2020. But that practice was halted ahead of the 2022-2023 season.

Club captains decided in August to save the anti-racism gesture for significant occasions rather than before every game.

“[Taking a knee] is more than a gesture,” said former Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi. “It says we must keep working to eradicate racism.”

In addition to the season opener and Boxing Day games, Premier League players took a knee in two weekends’ games in October in solidarity with the No Room for Racism campaign.

While in November 2022, seven former Premier League players, including Ameobi, joined the Player to Executive Pathways Scheme (PEPS).

The pilot project gives former players from various racial and ethnic backgrounds exposure to club operations to increase diversity in leadership positions in the Premier League.

Ameobi said: “It’s always been an aspiration of mine to help the club and inspire the next generation.

“If you don’t see yourself represented in the boardroom, it’s hard to have the confidence to be there.”